August General Membership Meeting

Focus on Ballona Wetlands Restoration

Owned by the people, the Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve is among the last of scores of tidal wetlands that once graced Los Angeles County and as the result of an agreement entered into by several government agencies in partnership with the Annenberg Foundation* is facing a controversial restoration project.

Don’t miss this most important local issues meeting and hear from our panel about the proposed restoration that supports a huge mechanical demolition and alteration of the land, as well as the construction of a 46,000 square foot visitor center/animal adoption/hospital facility which are normally not allowed on state ecological reserves. Our experts will reveal details about the controversy over these plans and impacts to wildlife, and alternatives will be explained.

*A representative for the Annenberg Foundation was invited to make a presentation on the proposed Annenberg Foundation project but declined and has offered to do so at a later date.

About Marcia Hanscom: Marcia has been speaking out for the protection and restoration of wetlands, coastal ecosystems and endangered species since the early 1990s when she lived near the Bolsa Chica Wetlands in Huntington Beach and became involved with the Sierra Club in order to preserve more wetlands there than had been offered in a deal to another environmental public interest group. She was a leader in the decade-long struggle to save more than 600 acres of land at Ballona from 1995 until the present.

About Roy van de Hoek: Roy is a conservation biologist.. He has more than 20 years of experience in government, working for the United States Forest Service (Department of Agriculture), the Bureau of Land Management (U.S. Department of Interior) and the County of Los Angeles, where he still works as an Environmental Educator in the Department of Parks & Recreation. He is Science Director & President of Wetlands Defense Fund.

About Dr. Margot Griswold: Senior Restoration Ecologist, Dr. Griswold leads the Land IQ Restoration Los Angeles office. She has 18 years’ experience with plant communities in southern California, and specializes in habitat restoration and land management. Margot has worked with federal, state, and local agencies to plan and implement project-specific ecological programs, including projects involving oversight by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Land Management, Caltrans, California Office of Mine Reclamation, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and California State Coastal Commission.